Dozens of people met at Waddell High School Thursday night for what Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Crystal Hill called her new “think tank.” They included CMS employees, parents, students and community leaders.
Hill and her staff are working on a five-year plan to meet the school board’s goals for improving students’ reading, math and preparation for college and careers.
A big focus will be retaining teachers to help combat a national shortage. That means working with county commissioners and state legislators to boost pay, and possibly recruiting community groups to provide housing support.
“We’re looking at some interesting, really innovative ways that we can support teachers either through rental assistance all the way to homeownership,” Hill said.
The group heard broad outlines of the plan before breaking into groups to discuss their ideas.
Afterward, CMS parent Kim Rowe said she enjoyed hearing from high school students and thinks Hill was smart to ask others to review her team’s ideas.
“She understands that they can have all these ideas, but if it doesn’t work for the stakeholders — the principals, the teachers, the parents, the students — it’s not going to work in real life,” Rowe said.
Hill says her staff will keep working on the five-year plan — and next year’s budget — and will run things by the group again before anything is final.